Book of Household Management; The

London: S. O. Beeton, 1861. The First Edition of Mrs. Beeton
An interesting look at life in a Victorian household, and the running of it

BEETON, Isabella Mrs. The Book of Household Management; ... With a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of all things connected with Home Life and Comfort. London: S.O. Beeton, 1861.

First edition, first impression with 18 Bouverie St. stated to the illustrated title page, and the farmyard frontispiece.

One volume rebound in two small octavo volumes (6 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches; 172 x 108 mm.). xxxix, [1, blank]. [1]-512; [513]-1112 pp. Colored frontispiece, color title-page and twelve color plates. Page 887/888 slightly frayed at outer margin.

Mid twentieth-century three-quarter dark red morocco over red cloth boards, decoratively ruled in gilt, spines with five raised bands, paneled and lettered in gilt in compartments, top edges stained black. pp. 887 and 888 slightly frayed at outer margin. A very good copy.

Isabella Beeton's comprehensive guide to cookery, with a wide variety of recipes, advice for the organization of kitchens and larders, marketing, and a calendar of food in season. She also gave advice on table decorations, how to wait a table, how to set a table, and how to carve meats and fish. Some of the recipes included vary from meat, poultry, salads, tarts, cold sweets, sandwiches, bread, jams, and icing. She played a pivotal role in shaping Victorian notions of household management and became an influential guide for generations. This is an interesting look at life in a Victorian household, and the running of it. It remains a valuable historical document, offering insights into the daily lives and cultural values of the 19th-century middle-class households.

"First edition in book form, London, 1861. First printing, with Cox and Wyman the printers and with the first line of the errata correctly referring to p. 57 , not p. 657. This work was originally published in 24 monthly parts, 1859-1861." (William R. Cagle. A Matter of Taste. p. 391).

Isabella Mary Beeton (1836-1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. She was born in London and, after schooling in Islington, north London, and Heidelberg, Germany, she married Samuel Orchart Beeton, an ambitious publisher and magazine editor. In 1857, less than a year after the wedding, Beeton began writing for one of her husband's publications, The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. She translated French fiction and wrote the cookery column, though all the recipes were plagiarized from other works or sent in by the magazine's readers. In 1859 the Beetons launched a series of 48-page monthly supplements to The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine; the 24 instalments were published in one volume as Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management in October 1861, which sold 60,000 copies in the first year.

Bitting p. 32; Cagle 561.